Alt Text Map of Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina. The park area is shaded green and yellow, its long banks shaped like a checkmark below the mainland, stretching up to Cape Hatteras National Shore. The rivers and bays are pale blue, and the Atlantic Ocean is a deeper blue. Extended Description The park area starts at Beaufort Visitor Information Center on the mainland’s coast, then continues down the Shackleford Banks (Proposed Wilderness) to Cape Lookout, then up the South Core and North Core Banks, ending at the Ocracoke Inlet, below the bottom of Cape Hatteras on Ocracoke Island. There are several points along the coast for ferry travel to the park area. This description will start by laying out the roads up the coast, noting park entry points, then will travel through the park area from west to northeast. A transcription of the legend will follow. Roads and Park Entry Points US Highway 70 enters from the left through Morehead City. Text here notes a distance of 32 miles (51 kilometers) from Morehead City to New Bern. A connecting road over the Intracoastal Waterway links US Highway 70 with State Route 58 on Bogue Banks, which leads to Fort Macon. US Highway 70 goes from Morehead City to Beaufort, reaching Beaufort Visitor Information Center, which has information, restrooms, the North Carolina Maritime Museum, and a passenger ferry, which goes down the Beaufort inlet, between Fort Macon State Park and Rachel Carson Reserve to the eastern tip of Shackleford Banks. From Beaufort, US Highway 70 continues up the coast, branching north as County Road 1300 up to South River and continuing east as the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway, which is a yellow-highlighted red road with several offshoots. The Scenic Byway crosses the North River to Otway, where it branches in two. One leg goes to Smyrna, and another heads south to Straits, then crossing over the water to Harkers Island and the Harkers Island Visitor Center, the park headquarters. This spot has information, a picnic area, restrooms, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, and a passenger ferry that travels down the Barden Inlet and reaches Cape Lookout Lighthouse. From Smyrna, the road branches down and then again, with one leg going to Marshallsberg, and another heading toward Straits. Another offshoot between Straits and Marshallsberg reaches Gloucester. The other branch of US Highway 70 goes from Smyrna up to Williston, going around Jarrett Bay to Davis. Here is a vehicle ferry which crosses the Core Sound and lands on Great Island, open seasonally, which has information, lodging, restrooms, picnic shelters, showers, drinking water, and a sanitary disposal station. US Highway 70 goes from Davis to Stacy, curves around Nelson Bay and splits again. Outer Banks National Scenic Byway continues up (also labeled State Route 12), crossing into Cedar Island. US Highway 70 comes back down toward Atlantic and untoward Hall Point near Thorofare Bay, where another vehicle ferry leads to Long Point on the North Core Bank. This site, open seasonally, has information, lodging, restrooms, picnic shelter, showers, drinking water, and a sanitary disposal station. Between Atlantic and Hall Point, the road links back up with State Route 12 just before it enters Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge. That road runs through toward Cedar Island Bay, where one leg splits down to Lola and the Refuge Office, and the other leg continues up toward the North Carolina State Ferry. The ferry route curves around the northern part of the North Core Banks and reaches Ocracoke. From the ferry stop on Ocracoke, State Route 12 continues up the island through Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Another passenger ferry from Ocracoke leads to Portsmouth Village on the tip of North Core Banks. This site, open seasonally, has information, restrooms, and a US Life-Saving Service Station (Historic). Cape Lookout National Seashore The seashore is shaded to show four different national areas around these banks. Yellow indicates beach and grassland; sage green represents saltmarsh; forest green represents maritime forest; and white with blue dots represents tidal flats. The stretch of Shackleford Banks that faces Onslow Bay is beach/grassland, while the land behind it along Whale Creek and Back Sound is mostly saltmarsh with some maritime forest. There is a restroom near the passenger ferry landing saltmarsh area, and another in the maritime forest area before Whale Creek. A small section in the lower tip of Shackleford is tidal flats. On Cape Lookout, the land from Power Squadron Spit to the tip overlooking Cape Lookout Shoals is beach/grassland. That area also has restrooms and a sanitary disposal site. The area behind it facing Barden Inlet is saltmarsh, and it has a US Coast Guard Station (Historic). Now heading northeast up South Core Banks, the land facing the Atlantic Ocean is beach/grassland, and the land facing the Core Sound is saltmarsh. The layout is the same on the North Core Banks, up to Portsmouth Village. A large tidal flat creeps in from the beach/grassland and into the saltmarsh. Text here reads “Tidal flats may flood quickly at high tide—depending upon winds and seasons.” Legend In the bottom right corner of the map, a scale shows distances of 5 kilometers and 5 miles. Text below reads, “Water depths from 0-6 feet (0-2 meters) are typical in Core and Back Sounds. New shoals and channels form continually. National Ocean Survey charts are essential for safe navigation in these waters. Ocean Coastline derived from Landsat 8 imagery taken on October 10, 2014. There are no roads within the national seashore; a 4-wheel-drive vehicle is highly recommended for driving on the beach. Some land within the park remains private property; please respect the owner’s rights.” The legend is headed “Natural areas within Cape Lookout NS” and continues as follows: Forest green for Maritime forest, Yellow for Beach/grassland Sage green for Saltmarsh, White with blue dots for Tidal flats, Blue dashed line for Toll ferry, and Red line encased in yellow for Outer Banks National Scenic Byway (ferry connection to Ocracoke Island). Two columns of symbols represent Information, Lodging, Picnic area, Restrooms, Picnic shelter, Passenger ferry, Vehicle ferry, Showers, Drinking water, and Sanitary disposal station.